Fiber lasers today are capable of supplying powers of a few watts, and feed an end piece that can be heated by the optical power to temperatures of a few hundred or even more than a thousand degrees Celsius. These hot end pieces or “hot tips” are useful in, e.g., medical local heating, fuel ignition and ammunition detonation, where high, concentrated heat fluxes are needed.
Two kinds of end pieces are of interest: the first being heating by conduction from the hot surface, and the second being heating the media surrounding the hot tip via light scattering from the hot tip and absorption by the surrounding media.
The hot tips should be capable of handling high powers without being damaged and of being operated by a wide spectral range of lasers of various kinds.